Sea Turtle HOV

We knew they went far but 4,700 miles. Impressive.

Scientists found that leatherback turtles regularly swim that distance across the Atlantic Ocean. You could drive from New York City to Portland, Oregon, and almost back again before reaching that mileage. You could get there faster if you went in lanes reserved for High Occupancy Vehicles.

There's an idea. If we know where they're going and where they started, maybe we can better protect the endangered beasts. Establish their routes on a map of the ocean and restrict certain uses on these routes. Call them sea turtle lanes, just like we have shipping lanes, and just like we've taken care in some terrestrial areas to designate wildlife crossings and pathways.  It's bound to help.

Read the story here.


photo credit: CORBIS

Not Out of Mind

We've heard about the disgusting and deadly Gyres. Massive whirlpools of trash, mainly plastics, generated by humans but swirling around in the middle of the world's oceans. They're out of sight to most people but should not be out of mind.

The Dish blog found a list of what's out there and why it's bad. Aluminum foil, balloons, batteries, bottle caps, and condoms top the list. See the whole list here.

See the Light

See the Light

Oh Hey Sorry About That My Bad

Eco Ocean Form Letter:

Dear World's Oceans, 

Sorry for screwing up everything! Hope we can still be friends.

Thanks,
The Humans

An Apology to the Seas

Brad Van Liew has an apology. A big, sad apology to the oceans. He's no softie -- he has sailed solo across vast and dangerous ocean stretches more than once. Let's call his apology deep and poignant sincerity from a man who has seen the damages, and who has had time to think about the big picture. 

"The primary message that I will try to convey to this watery world as we enter 2011 is an apology,'' Van Liew blogged on the official race site from the Southern Ocean, according to Stuff.co.nz. 

"My message will be a hollow New Year's apology because I need to be honest with my friends down here. There is really nothing being done that will change the tide of globalization and human growth." Thanks, Brad. 

Read the full story in stuff.co.nz here.

Eco Ocean Form Letter:

Dear World's Oceans, 

Sorry for screwing up everything! Hope we can still be friends.

Thanks,
The Humans

Can't Beat Them, Eat Them

Interesting strategy for conservation from Reef Environmental Education Foundation (REEF) in Florida. The conservation group released a cookbook for Lionfish, according to ABC News.

Lionfish are tearing up the marine ecosystem in the Atlantic off Florida because they are an invasive species -- that is one imported from someplace far away. These uninvited guests usually run roughshod over their new home without a predator in sight. Think Zebra Mussels or Kudzu or the Rapa Whelk.

But ah, the human predator. "It's absolutely good eating -- a delicacy. It's delicately flavored white meat, very buttery," Lad Akins, director of special projects for Reef Environmental Education Foundation (REEF), told Reuters. He authored the cookbook along with a professional chef, Tricia Ferguson.

This may be one fish that would be good to overfish. Can I really be saying that...?

The full story here.

Buttery

Happy New Year

During Congressional hearings about a controversial Alaskan pipeline in the mid eighties, a blind man stood up and said these powerful words:

"I may never get up to the Arctic and I certainly will never see Wild Alaska, but in those days when my own world seems dark and small, just to know such places exist fills my soul with hope."

May your New Year be filled with hope, and healthy oceans.